


Love, Margot

by OfMonstersAndWerewolves



Category: Once Upon a Time (TV)
Genre: F/F, First Kiss, Fluff, Fluff and Angst, High School, Identity Reveal, Implied/Referenced Homophobia, Light Angst, Love Simon AU, Mental Health Issues, Minor Cinderella | Jacinda Vidrio/Henry Mills
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-03-28
Updated: 2020-03-28
Packaged: 2021-02-27 23:53:39
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 2,031
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/22960510
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/OfMonstersAndWerewolves/pseuds/OfMonstersAndWerewolves
Summary: Every subsequent revolution of the ferris wheel sank Robin’s heart further.Maybe this was all a big mistake.Maybe Tilly wasn’t interested in meeting up with her after all.With only a few remaining rotations of the Ferris Wheel left, Robin begins to accept her solo predicament. But through her impending disappointment at rock bottom, a last minute voice may just take her back to the top of the world.
Relationships: Alice | Tilly/Robin | Margot
Comments: 8
Kudos: 39





	Love, Margot

**Author's Note:**

> So here's a relatively short AU idea I had.
> 
> I've tried to hopefully make it so you can get the gist of the situation without having seen or read Love, Simon, though it may be easier if you are familiar with the story. This fic takes place during the ending, so just be aware there are spoilers for Love, Simon here if you haven't seen/read it. I've yet to read the book, myself, so I'm basing this on the film's depiction.
> 
> Hope you enjoy!

Top of the world.

Rock bottom.

Top of the world.

Rock – _sigh_ – bottom.

Every time the little seat lowered back down to ground level, a piece of Robin’s heart went with it. But unlike the seat, which rose up again as it carried on its course, the fragments refused to follow, choosing instead to anchor themselves to the pit of melancholy forming inside her. She was stubbornly determined not to wallow in self-pity, but it was hard not to dwell on her current predicament.

She’d suspected she'd have to wait a little while, even if this had gone smoothly. But the longer it had gone on, the more sceptical she’d become, and as the ferris wheel continued to turn, one slow revolution after another, Robin’s heart sank deeper and deeper into despair.

Tilly wasn’t going to turn up, was she?

It all seemed so silly now. A Ferris Wheel, a funfair, the countless stars shining their light amidst the wide expanse of the darkening evening; it was all right out of a cheesy romcom.

An urban fairytale.

And not one that would have featured someone like her.

Of course she wouldn't turn up. The emails had been leaked, the entire school knew… and it was her fault. Well, it was Ivy's, ultimately. But she, herself, hadn't exactly handled it great, and looking at it all now, she wouldn’t have been surprised if Tilly never wanted to speak to her again, let alone meet up with her. Here. In real life. Offline.

She gazed down at the few onlookers surrounding the wheel. Most people were busy with the rest of the funfair, but a select few had decided to support her in this dumb idea, for whatever reason.

Her cousin Henry for a start. A family member and friend who'd somehow forgiven her for the mess between himself, Ella and Ivy. She hadn't wanted him to get with Ivy, but she'd had her hands tied by that witch. Eventually she got him to understand how desperate she'd been, how much it hurt to be forced out before you were ready, how much it meant to be able to open that door at your own pace, your own time, your own terms. How scared she'd been. It hadn't intended to be a sob story, but simply an explanation of the truth. A complicated, messy truth.

But he still had every right to be angry with her. Betrayed. Hurt. And she hadn't blamed him for being so.

Her best friend Ella, now stood beside him, resting her head on his shoulder, had also managed to forgive her. She unwrapped an arm from around Henry now, and gave her another thumbs up, though even from up here it was clear it had lost much of it's enthusiasm and was lacking in the way of meaningful encouragement. Henry’s hope wasn't waning quite as much as Ella's – he got that from his grandmother – but even he was starting to doubt the success of the event.

Her brother Roland, back from college for the week, had been her much needed shoulder to cry on when the truth came out, in more ways than one. And here he was once more, supporting her through this wild endeavour. They caught eyes and he smiled at her as she moved back down again. In that moment, an understanding passed between them through that soft smile of his. An understanding that if she wanted, if she needed him to, he'd be there to hold her. He'd be there to comfort his little sister through her heartbreak, as much as he could before he went back. And she hoped her returning smile accurately conveyed to him her gratitude.

Agonising minutes went by, and still there was no sign of Tilly. She sighed and her heart sank as the operator stuck a single forefinger up at her, the seat moving down and passed him.

This last turn of the wheel seemed to the worst of the lot. But finally, it ended and the seat came to a halt at ground level. At least it was physically ground level, but Robin felt she'd been pummelled down to hell and back.

But when she made to get up from the seat, a voice called out from the crowd.

“Hang on!” Robin looked up just as Ivy came rushing out from behind the onlookers, standing firmly with her arms outstretched in dramatic fashion. “It’s me. I’m Tilly.”

Robin stared back at her, nodding her head slowly, lips pursed, with an expression she hoped was as nonplussed as she could make it. “You’re not Tilly.”

“No, I’m not, you’re right. But after the mess I put you through, I can’t just leave you like this…” she responded, handing over some cash to the operator. “Last one’s on me. You've got this.”

“Uh, thanks Ivy,” she said to her, somewhat half-heartedly, as she skipped back to the rest of the crowd. Ivy’s attempt here at reparation for her actions over the last few months was… underwhelming at best. Still, it did at least seem to be somewhat sincere, even if it would take a lot more than paying for a ride on a Ferris Wheel to make up for everything.

The operator pocketed the cash. “Last call for the Ferris Wheel!” she heard him shout.

A sliver of hope blossomed within, and Robin quickly tried to extinguish it, cursing herself for providing such false hope; fuel for the fire.

The operator, having gotten no response to his call, clipped the bar holding Robin in into place before sauntering over to the operating booth. Robin watched him enter, her arms laid over the bar, shoulders slumped in a kind of subdued acceptance of her fate. The booth’s door closed. He moved over to the controls-

“Wait! Hold up!” This time when Robin’s head snapped up, the recognition that followed lead to a much better, if complex, reaction. She cast her eyes in the direction of the voice calling from the crowd, the unmistakable British accent of its occupant standing out for miles in a sea of Americans.

And there she was, definitely heading in her direction.

Alice tore through the crowd, her loose flannel shirt flapping around over her top. Maybe she was here to support her too, and simply hadn't realised the time? Had she even known she was doing this? Had she only just found out? Whatever the reason, Alice ran across the space between her friends and herself, stopping slap bang in front of her once she’d reached the Ferris Wheel, breathless. “Can I sit with you?” she asked, once she'd eventually caught her breath.

Robin swallowed. “Actually, Alice,” she began, rubbing the back of her neck. “I’m waiting for someone. For Tilly.”

A shy smile emerged on Alice’s face, accompanied by a blush. “I know you are… Margot.”

Margot?

Margot.

Oh.

_Oh._

She’d imagined what it would be like to finally hear Tilly say... anything. But hearing her say her pseudonym, the name she'd used to speak to Tilly – to Alice, for all this time... she could have heard her say it again and again. Just one word. But all that time, turns out she'd already heard her say her real name.

Her elusive Tilly, standing right in front of her eyes.

Alice _frickin’_ Jones.

This was a dream, right? It had to be. There was no way Alice was Tilly. She couldn't be that lucky, surely?

She came back down to earth to find Alice appeared to be searching her own face, her eyes casting across her own features, an awkward look in her eyes. She realised her mistake then, and immediately she smiled.

“Yeah, of course!” she said, messing around with the bar in front of her, her fingers fumbling over the catch clumsily. The operator came over gesturing for her to stop and undid the bar, momentarily blocking Alice's view of reddening cheeks and one embarrassed Robin Mills. 

Smooth, Robin, smooth. Just make a fool of yourself in front of her, why don't you?

But Alice didn't seem to be fazed – in fact she seemed quite the opposite! She grinned as she came to sit beside her, her shy demeanour broken by the excitement she was quite clearly trying to hide. Robin didn’t think she was doing a better job of concealing her own either.

It was a little snug in the seat; there was a gap between them, sure, but they were close. Far enough away that they weren't quite shoulder to shoulder, but close enough that Robin's pulse was beating at what must surely have been 100mph. It was the living proof that her heart had made some kind of miraculous recovery from its dismantling only minutes earlier.

So caught up in the sudden turn of events and the pretty girl sat next to her, Robin didn't realise they'd even started moving, let alone made it to the top of the wheel, until they stopped at the very peak with a jerk. She made to say something to break the slightly awkward silence, but Alice got there before her.

“I'm so sorry it took me so long to get here-!”

“Hey, hey, it's ok. I'm kinda surprised you showed up at all,” she reassured her. “So… were you surprised it was me of all people? I haven't always been the nicest person to be around over the years. You weren't at the school back then, but I used to be a bit of a Mean Girl™.”

“I’m not interested in your past, Robin. I don't like you because of that, I like you b-” She cut herself off then, blushing. “I like you because of you now, and your emails. I've loved getting to know you through them.”

“Me too.”

“I didn't know what you looked like, or who you were. Just what you chose to tell me.”

“And that you were like me.”

“Yeah,” Alice said, a single word so delicately spoken it was barely audible. “Do you wish I was someone else?”

“No. No, I… I’m happy it’s you,” Robin answered, an uncharacteristically shy grin making its way onto her face, a contrast to Alice’s frown.

“But you must have heard what people say about me? That I’m crazy, absolutely bonkers, completely mad,” Alice said, embarrassment evident in her voice. It wasn’t so much a question, rather a statement. She looked down.

“I’ve… I’ve heard that, yeah. But,” – Robin lifted her chin up with a curved finger – “all the best people are.”

The initial effect on Alice was almost instantaneous. A sweet smile replaced her solemn expression, warming Robin’s heart in a way she never thought possible. A blush spread across her cheeks, her eyes glancing down at Robin’s lips. But then it slowly faded, uncertainty casting itself across her face again.

“The truth is Robin,” she began, doubt plainly present in her voice. “I have… issues. In my mind. It makes it harder for me to do things that other people can do without having to think about it. That's partly why it took me so long to get here. Doesn’t that bother you?”

“Not really. And that’s the truth,” she added, upon seeing Alice’s unconvinced look. “We can get through it… together.”

“Really?” Alice’s hopeful plea hit Robin's chest like a ton of bricks. Alice wasn't used to this.

Robin tentatively took her hand in hers and she looked into those beautiful blue eyes staring back at her, full of wonder. “Yeah, really. What do you say, you wanna give it a try?”

Alice didn’t answer, and for a horrifying split second Robin thought she’d say no, but then she leant forward so her face was a hair’s breadth away from her, and pulled Robin into a kiss.

Robin had dreamt about this moment, had yearned for it. For months, her imagination had took off, wondering how it would feel to finally kiss Tilly, to finally feel her lips against hers. Soft, emotional, warm. But cupping Alice’s neck, their lips pressed together, nothing could quite compare. It was so much better than she could have ever imagined.

Maybe, just this once, cheesy romcoms could happen after all.

**Author's Note:**

> Thanks for reading!
> 
> I wanted to try and emulate the kind of dramatic nature of teenage love and heartbreak which is why Robin gets a little overdramatic with it all, even more so than usual. 
> 
> In terms of my next upload, I honestly don't really know. The next chapter of Happy Accidents is being worked on, rest assured, but I've several other ideas that I'm hoping may also come to fruition within these upcoming weeks, so I'm not too sure what's coming next.
> 
> Does anyone have any preferences? I don't mean ideas, I've got plenty of those, but in terms of genre, is the fandom wanting a bit more fluff at the moment, with what's going on? Or Angst? Action/Adventure? I can't make any promises or anything, it all depends on what my brain has ideas for and wants me to write, which may not align with general consensus, but I thought I'd ask so I had a bit of an idea.
> 
> Thanks again for reading. Stay safe everyone!


End file.
